If you market your business online (and you should), you also have a few social media accounts that compliment your brand. As a matter of fact, there is a good chance that you had a social media presence first.
When I ask those with an online presence the question, which social media sites bring you the most traffic, I almost always get (without hesitation) Facebook and Twitter as the answer. But when I ask what this traffic does for their business, the answers comes with hesitation.
Let me give you 5 powerful ways to use social media to strengthen your business:
1. Networking
This is the obvious use of social media. It does not need a whole lot of explanation. I believe that everybody with a computer understands that social media is the platform that has enabled us to network with people, we had no way of reaching before social media was born. It is important to note that networking does have its pitfalls and everyone should keep their personal networking separate from business networking, and for obvious reasons.
2. Customer service
Because the majority of people uses social media these days, the expectation is that you can go online and get all your questions answered. This area of social media is a very challenging one, since you have to be very careful to balance your online and offline presence. Because of the visibility online, there is a tendency to give online customer service priority over offline. This could create the image of only being helpful if your actions are exposed. One way to circumvent this is to post a phone number online that customers can call, rather than helping customers online.
3. Acquiring new customers
There is, in my opinion, no better way to find new customers than with social media. Even if your business is local, you can benefit tremendously. It is so much easier to reach people using social media because 85% of us are submerged in one of the social networks on a daily basis.
4. Establish your authority in your niche
By publishing your knowledge and answering people questions, you will automatically become an authority in your niche. The only secret is to stick with it and to be consistent in your approach. Be honest and do not look for something in return.
5. PR
This is where social media may be at its most powerful. The fact that we can all promote our businesses without being forced to spend a fortune, has resulted in the leveling of the playing field. We can compete with larger corporations, reaching the same target group and establishing a presence that is not too far removed from the larger corporations.
I have limited myself to these 5, realizing full well that there are many more. I would love to hear what you experience as the most important benefits of using social media platforms. Leave your views in the comments and if you are stopping by to simply read and learn, we hope you find a few nuggets of valuable information. Take what you learned, go forth and be fruitful.
